Wow, it's been a while since I've posted an update. What happened, you ask? Well, I decided to punish myself by taking a couple seminary classes. I had some space in my schedule to add something and continuing my academic journey is a desire that I have. So, I decided to throw a couple courses on my plate. They were definitely more involved than I anticipated and I've spent pretty much every spare moment outside of work and family completing the reading and assignments. All that to say, I've finished them and I'm hopefully going to be able to get back to regular updates and backpack quotes!
Ministry Update
I've had many opportunities for gospel ministry over the last couple months. I'm thinking list form will be the most succinct and informative.
I've been leading worship for Gospel Hope every Sunday, highlighting gospel themes in song, word, and liturgy.
One particular success is that I was able to bring about 25 members of Gospel Hope together for an Easter choir. I don't have much experience leading choirs but this was a fun endeavor that proved to be a wonderful blessing as we praised our resurrected Savior on Easter.
I was invited to speak at a graduation ceremony back in Savannah, GA. About 3 years ago I had the great privilege of teaching the students for their sophomore year and it was a blessing to be back with them, celebrating their accomplishment of completing High School! I exhorted them to remember the grace that has (or can) saved them, the grit required for their growth in Christ, and to keep their eyes beholding the glory of Christ who is our highest good and our supreme joy! My text was 2 Peter 1:3-9.
While back in Savannah, I also had the opportunity to be a guest speaker for FBC Garden City. Tommy Duke graciously allowed me to preach the Sunday sermon for his congregation. I was able to encourage them to live mature Christian lives, which means pressing on toward Jesus no matter the season of life. Maturity is not a place, but a perseverance. The text I preached was Philippians 3:12-21. If you'd like to listen to the sermon then click this link: Preaching at FBC Garden City
Lastly, I was able to preach at Gospel Hope just this last Sunday. It was the final sermon in their current "Good News" series. I preached from Mark 14:1-11. If you'd like to listen to it, you can click this link: Hold Nothing Back
Upcoming Ministry
The next movement of our church-planting journey is an extended vision trip with our kids. We will be in Puerto Rico from Jun19th-July 12th. During our time there we will be staying at Adoptando en PR for a couple weeks, an Airbnb in Aguada for a week, we'll wrap up our time near San Juan. Our goals for the trip are:
Visit Puerto Rico with our kids so they can get a feel for what it will be like when we move there.
Engage with pastors and ministry leaders on the west side of the island to explore further strategy for planting.
Determine specific location of where we will live and where the church plant will be. Prayer walking and street conversations will be a part of this.
Develop prospectus for the church plant so that we can have a helpful summary of our vision and mission to give to churches that might be interested in partnering with our church planting effort.
Serve Adoptando en Pr with our kids, kind of like a mini mission trip for the family.
I'm sure more things will come up during our time there, but this is the start. We're excited to be back in Puerto Rico and are praying that the Lord will give us even more specific direction in this journey that he has called us to.
Financial Update
The Lord has been providing for us in many ways. We are so grateful for our monthly partners and for the one-time gifts we have received. The Lord has been adding church partners and individual givers. We are so encouraged by how the Lord is meeting our needs through his church as we continue in the gospel mission. Thank you to all of you who are in this with us! Here's an update on our current needs.
We still need more monthly partners so that our family can have it's monthly needs met. We still need to raise $3,000 more a month.
Our trip to Puerto Rico for the summer requires plane tickets. For our whole fam to fly round trip, it costs $4,000.
My seminary classes moving forward will be significantly less than the last couple classes I took. I had to pay $2,000 out of pocket. I'm going to transfer to New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary because they have a Masters in Church Planting. They also offer financial aid to church-planters in the SEND Network. Still, I'll have to pay for a small portion of the upcoming education so giving toward my education is another way you can partner with us in this journey.
Another larger expense that we have is our kids schooling. We homeschool them and this upcoming year we will also be enrolling them in some specialty courses at a place called Artios Academy. They will be taking classes in dance, art, and drama. It's a great opportunity and probably one that they won't get in Puerto Rico, so we're taking advantage of it while we are here in Atlanta.
If you'd like to become a monthly partner or give a one-time gift toward any of the needs mentioned above then you can give at this website: gospelhope.churchcenter.com/give. Simply, find "Canfield Family Support" and you can join us in our aim to see God's kingdom advance on the island of Puerto Rico.
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